


you got all my love to spend

by NoBloodNoCookie



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, Fluff, Love potions that spring unknowing love confessions, Penelope and Josie think they HATE each other, There's Amortentia, as always, but hella oblivious Josie, gay shenanigans basically, little do they know, well Penelope does know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-08-18 19:03:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20196559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoBloodNoCookie/pseuds/NoBloodNoCookie
Summary: It should be common knowledge to everyone at Hogwarts that Josie Saltzman despises Penelope Park, right? They can't spend five minutes in each other's presence without bickering or Josie feeling the urge to set Penelope on fire for God's sake.But when there's a love potion that smells like what you're most attracted to and the 'what' is the smell of your arch nemesis's shampoo, turns out the truth was a little bit more complicated than that. Unfortunately for her, the only person that's truly surprised by it is Josie herself.(She handles it as well as you'd expect Josie Saltzman to.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So quick heads up if you haven't read Harry Potter before (why? Get to reading it! Like now.) that Aguamenti is a spell that produces water. 
> 
> Title from Only Human by the Jonas Brothers because I'm cheesy like that.

The door to the potions dungeon slams open and two seventh year Slytherins come running in, lightly shoving each other, a little out of breath and definitely twenty minutes late. 

Rebekah Mikaelson stops her Advanced Potions lecture to raise one questioning, perfect blonde eyebrow at her two favorite, if slightly annoying, students. 

Hope and Lizzie, the only two Gryffindors taking this class, immediately perk up at the sight of them. They lean forward to see the drama that will inevitably go down. 

“I’m so sorry, Professor Mikaelson. This will never happen again,” Josie Saltzman avows, shaking her head rapidly. 

“It definitely won’t because I won’t let Josie make us late again, Professor,” Penelope Park chimes in, shooting Josie a dirty look. 

Josie scoffs. “It’s completely your fault that we’re late.”

“And why are you two late anyway?” Rebekah asks, knowing there would be an entertaining story whenever these two were involved. It’s what she’s come to expect since they decided they hated each other in the very first year. 

“Professor Mikaelson, I mean, the other Professor Mikaelson - uh, Josie’s mom took the time to yell at us and then gave us both detention. Which I think is totally unfair because I was the one being threatened to be set on fire in the first place.”

Landon and MG snicker, while Hope and Lizzie shake their heads. Nothing about this was new, but that didn’t mean it wasn't still amusing. 

“Because,” Josie interrupts Penelope, “you decided that it would be funny to scream ‘get ready to aguamenti, smoke show incoming’ every time I walked into a room. For the past two weeks. So,” Josie explains to Rebekah with a little shrug, “I decided to show her a smoke show.” 

“Only proving my point further,” Penelope adds. “But we may have uh, accidentally set a desk on fire, in the process.” 

Rebekah frowns. “Not in our common room, right?”

Josie waves a hand. “It was in the library, we’re all good.” 

“Fine.” Rebekah sighs and gestures to the empty Slytherin table that held a cauldron full of a potion with a distinct mother-of-pearl sheen and had steam rising from it in spirals. “Sit down, don’t talk and pay attention. Again, stay completely silent,” she warns them both, tired of the whispering arguments they’d constantly got up to. All the time.

They nod and quickly sit down. 

“I could’ve been in so much trouble because of you,” Josie mutters, five unsuccessful minutes of trying to stay quiet later. Definitely not any paying attention to Rebekah explaining the smell of the potion in front of MG at the Hufflepuff table.

Something about Penelope Park lowered her inhibitions, making her mean and snarky with the girl in a way she’d never be with anyone else. 

Penelope rolls her eyes, before exhaling in relief like not saying anything to Josie was taking a toll on her too. “She’s literally your aunt. If anyone could get into trouble, it would be me.” 

“Please, all you have to do is flash those pretty greens to get out of trouble. I've seen how you use them to get people to do whatever you want.” 

Penelope smirks, honing in on the first part of Josie’s comment. “Aw, you have a thing for my eyes, Saltzman?” 

Josie sputters as she tries to come up with a retort to that, but is thankfully interrupted by Rebekah demanding their attention. 

“Anything you’d like to share with the class, you two?” 

“I was just telling Josie that she should wear less of her perfume to potions class. I honestly can’t tell what the potion in front of me should smell like because of her overpowering scent,” Penelope lies smoothly. 

Well, it was true. Penelope really couldn’t tell what the smell of the potion in front of her was supposed to be but technically she was lying to Rebekah.

The room’s atmosphere changes once Penelope says that and she can’t figure out why. 

“I actually borrowed Josie’s perfume last week and haven’t had a chance to return it yet,” Lizzie notes gleefully, a huge grin splitting her face into two. 

Josie ignores her. “I’m not even wearing it, Park. Like you’re any better. The smell of your stupid shampoo is honest to God suffocating me.” 

“Baseless accusation. I haven’t even had time to shower today,” Penelope retorts. 

“Not something to be too proud of.” Hope’s whisper carries across the room. 

“Thank you for your input, Hope,” Rebekah shoots her niece a small smile, before turning to Josie and Penelope and her voice takes on a lighter tone. “You two have given us all a brilliant learning opportunity. You’re saying you can’t understand the scent of this rather interesting potion because of the surrounding smells, right?” 

“More specifically Josie’s perfume,” Penelope adds. 

“Or Penelope’s shampoo,” Josie counters, glaring at Penelope. 

Rebekah laughs. “Yes, that. If you took a minute to inhale more of the steam rising from this cauldron, I’m sure you would recognize other things as well but this is far more exciting. Landon, why don’t you catch these latecomers up on what we discussed about the nature of this particularly interesting potion.”

“Happy to, Professor Mikaelson,” Landon replies, taking any chance to impress his girlfriend’s aunt. 

“Suck up,” the five other students in the class murmur simultaneously. 

Landon ignores them and recollects everything Rebekah’s taught them about that potion perfectly. “That is Amortentia. It’s the most powerful love potion in the world, easily distinguishable by its mother-of-pearl sheen and the spiral steam rising from it. It has a different aroma for everyone who smells it, reminding each person of the things that they find most attractive.” 

He pauses for a second, smirks at Penelope and Josie who have turned very red and are noticeably looking anywhere but at each other before pointedly saying, “Even if the person is unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection themselves. For example, to me it smells like - may I?” 

He waits for Rebekah’s permission before walking over to the cauldron himself. 

“To me, it smells like blueberry jam on toast, that room in the Leaky Cauldron Raf and I stay at over the summer and,” his smile turns a little shy. “the fabric softener Hope uses.” 

Hope and MG coo a little at that but Josie’s too busy wishing she were buried alive to notice. 

_ This was pretty much the worst thing that could ever happen to Josie. _

Josie didn’t need Penelope Park to break her heart. 

_ Not again. _

“Thank you for that, Landon. Very informative,” Rebekah says, beaming at him before addressing Penelope and Josie’s slightly stunned faces. “I hope that’s caught you up on everything you two have, ahem, _ missed _.”

She looks awfully pleased with herself for that double entendre before waltzing away to explain the Felix Felicis that’s displayed on Landon’s Ravenclaw table. 

Josie finally turns to Penelope a few minutes later, embarrassed, face warm and hands slightly shaky. 

Penelope’s already carefully looking at her.

“Uh, so that- that just happened,” Josie stammers. 

Penelope shrugs. “It sounds about right though, doesn’t it?” 

_Huh? _

Those green eyes quietly plead for her to say something. 

Rebekah must immediately notice the ‘what the actual fuck’ look on Josie’s face because soon she announces to the class. “Alright, get started on brewing that Felix Felicis and partner up with someone from a different house.” 

“You just said Hope and I could work together.” 

“Ten points from Gryffindor for that, Lizzie.” 

“But-” 

“Twenty, Hope.” 

“But-” 

“Don’t make me take points from my own house, Penelope.” 

Penelope sighs in defeat as she watches Josie murmur a quick thank you to her aunt Rebekah before all but running to sit next to MG. 

“Hey, you okay?” MG asks her, worry clearly etched across his face as he takes in how shaken up Josie is. 

“Not in the slightest. Let’s just work on this for now, okay?” 

He nods and Josie spends the rest of the class distracted, ignoring Penelope’s eyes on her. 

When the bell rings, she runs out of the classroom like a bat out of hell, ignoring that annoying (but not really) voice calling after her. 

— 

“Sorry about that, Park.” Lizzie lightly pats Penelope on the shoulder. She’s helplessly watching Josie sprint out of the potions room and down the dungeon corridor. “When confronted with life altering emotions, it’s a Saltzman’s first instinct to run away. Can’t fight that genetic make up, you know? You’ll track her down though, don’t worry.” 

“I just want to talk to her.” 

“Give it time,” Hope chimes in. “It’s taken her by surprise, that’s all. How she didn’t know up until now, I don’t know, but Josie’s never been the best at processing her own feelings.” 

Penelope snorts, absentmindedly running a hand through the short hair that she’s maintained since Josie ‘accidentally’ burnt it off last year. “Understatement of the year, I think.” She looks at Hope in surprise, belatedly registering what she meant. “Wait, you know…? About the way I feel-”

Hope laughs in Penelope’s face, only pausing when she sees the puzzled look intensify there. “Oh no, you’re serious.” She scoffs. “_ Yeah _Penelope, I know.” 

“Everyone knows,” Rebekah remarks breezily, walking past them and out the door. 

“We just weren’t sure if you both knew,” MG adds. 

“I _ always _ knew,” Penelope insists. “I just assumed Josie did too and one day, somewhere down the line when we grew tired of constantly annoying each other and if she were willing, we’d get around to talking about it.” 

“Mhm, yeah,” Lizzie agrees airily, clucking her tongue and gesturing to the imaginary scorch marks Josie left on the floor in her haste to get away from Penelope. “Those are clearly the actions of someone in the know.” 

“Even _ I _knew,” Landon, bless his soul, pipes up fifteen seconds later than everyone else like always.

Penelope sighs and buries her hands in her face, making up her mind to talk to Josie even if it was the last thing she did.

How hard can it be to track Josie down and force her to sit down long enough to hold a conversation where they spill their deepest secrets anyway?

— 

The answer to that, Penelope soon learns, is that it was nearly impossible. 

Josie doesn’t show up at lunch or dinner. Penelope catches Pedro sneaking away a couple of sandwiches for Josie, so naturally she stops him and switches out the corned beef ones he chose for the tomato and grilled eggplant sandwiches that she knows Josie prefers instead.

“Will you tell me where she is?” She asks him, knowing it would be in vain. Pedro was unwavering in his loyalty to Josie after she’d helped him practice to make the Hufflepuff quidditch team last year.

“Sorry Penelope. I’m under specific orders to not tell you of all people,” he says apologetically. 

She lets him go, contemplating just how creepy it would be to stalk a third year and only really decides against it when he disappears from her sight. 

Penelope hopes she’d turn up in the girls’ dorm at least at bedtime. She tries to stay awake waiting for her and is sorely disappointed, but not surprised, when she wakes up in the morning and Josie’s bed remains untouched. 

She doesn’t come back to shower or get dressed either and Penelope wonders just how that’s working out for her. 

Her answer is presented in the form of Lizzie marching up to her the moment she walked into the Great Hall for some breakfast. 

“Fix it, Penelope,” Lizzie hisses menacingly. “She stayed over last night because she didn’t want to run into you. Do you even know how hard it is to cram another person into that minuscule rectangle these god awful people want to call a bed?” 

Penelope smirks at her. “Uh, yes. Unlike you, I have had sex, you know?”

Lizzie whacks her arm for that comment. Hard. “You see these bags under my eyes? They are definitely not welcome to stay on my face for two days in a row. I don’t care what you do, but I better be sleeping alone tonight.” 

“Isn’t that always the case?” 

Lizzie whacks her again, even harder this time, and okay, maybe she deserved that. “Fix my sister’s heart, Park.” 

“Jeez, I’m trying! I don’t see you helping.” 

Lizzie stares at her blankly, like she didn’t comprehend anything Penelope just said. “You messed her up, you fix her.” The ‘duh’ goes unsaid. 

Penelope rolls her eyes. “You’re absolutely useless to me.” 

“Oh no, that really hurts my feelings. How will I ever recover? Byeee.” 

“Wait,” Penelope calls out, realizing that even Lizzie was occasionally capable of doing something worthwhile. She quickly reaches into her bag and pulls out the fresh shirt and Slytherin sweater she’d stashed away in there. “Give this to her at least? Please?” 

Lizzie takes them with an uncharacteristically soft look on her face. “I’m rooting for you and even though I know you screw up everything you touch, don't this time_. _I’m going to kill you otherwise.” 

Then she turns on her heel and walks away. 

Penelope shakes her head and goes to grab breakfast, lightly rethinking this entire Josie thing. Did she want to be with someone whose sister was as insufferable as Lizzie was?

Unfortunately the answer to this question was yes or at least that’s what Penelope gathers from the way her heart leaps in her chest when she spots Josie talking to Hope in the open air corridor, leaning against a wall. 

Apparently her heart is truly set on this girl and even watching Josie quite literally leap over that wall the moment she spots Penelope doesn’t change that. 

“Did she just-” 

“Jump out a window to avoid you? Why yes, she did,” Hope wheezes out, doubled over in laughter. 

“That isn’t a window though,” Penelope notes dumbly, still in shock over the whole thing. 

“I know. But it sounds funnier when you say it that way and that’s the story I’m committed to telling. Best of luck, bud,” Hope tells her seriously, patting her shoulder the same way Lizzie had yesterday. “You’re going to need it. The denial is really strong with this one.”

She can only weakly thank Hope in return. 

Penelope hangs her head, defeated shoulders slumping.

Josie Saltzman.

Always making Penelope's life so much harder than it really had to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s a lot of talking about feelings, but unfortunately not to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I know I said this was going to be two chapters but it’s not! I didn’t want to keep you guys hanging, so I’m just publishing stuff as I get done with it. I hope you enjoy this, I had a lot of fun exploring these two relationships in this chapter.

Josie is hyper focused. 

There was nothing like playing Quidditch to center her again. Even if it was just her training by herself. 

In the air, whistling through the air as she made her way to the goalposts with the Quaffle in her hands was where she belonged. 

Any problems she may or may not be avoiding have been left on the ground.

Josie is hyper focused.

Which is why the quiet “hey, you need a partner?” surprises Josie so much that she nearly falls off her broom. 

While her first instinct was to fly away, she quickly calms down when she realizes that the voice belonged to Raf. 

It’s a little funny to her that she would rather deal with her ex-boyfriend that dumped her because he was in love with her step sister (even if they were pretty good friends now) than see Penelope again. 

”You’re keeping,” she tells him, lips still slightly curled up. 

“Sure.” 

She waits until he is a safe distance away from her. He’s blissfully unaware when a Bludger she’d enchanted flies rapidly in his direction. 

Raf ducks quickly, flattening himself against his broom and hazardously drops twenty feet to avoid it. 

Josie’s laughter rings through the entire Quidditch pitch. 

“Asshole.” His grin is practically audible. 

“That’s for sneaking up on me, by the way.” 

Raf takes his place before the goal posts, adjusting his gloves and smirking at her. “Don’t let your Quidditch  _ captain _ catch you practicing with a Gryffindor. Especially not your ex.” He winks at her in that specific way he did whenever he wanted to annoy her. 

Another bludger flies at his head and this time Josie can certainly say that he deserved it. 

She smiles sweetly at him once he swerves out of the path of the bludger with a laugh. 

“Hoping she won’t catch me at all.” 

He’s quiet for a beat, like he’s choosing his words carefully. “Isn’t that what you’re afraid of, though?”

Josie pauses, hands tightening around her broom. “Not now, Raf. Please.” 

He nods, easily giving into what she wants. Rafael never pushed, always happy to give her the time to collect her thoughts and speak up when she was ready. It was always one of her favorite things about him. 

He wordlessly summons one of the many Quaffles that were whizzing around, tosses it to her, gesturing for her to begin. 

They finish playing an hour and a half later. Josie’s mood significantly improves once she mentally works out Raf’s defense enough to know exactly how Kaleb, Nia and her were going to score against him in the Slytherin vs Gryffindor game next week. 

They dismount their brooms on the highest part of the bleachers, sit there and stay silent for a bit until Raf speaks up.

“You remember the Quidditch Cup finals last year?” 

Josie’s face puckers up at the memory of it, not wanting to relive something she’d been trying real hard to suppress. “We lost.” 

Raf laughs, like he knows something she doesn’t. “We won because you forfeited. After you shot Jed with a bat bogey hex of course.” 

“He’s lucky that’s all I did,” Josie tells him through gritted teeth. 

He hums in agreement. “Why’d you do it, Jo?” It’s not really a question, simply asked to reiterate what they both already knew. 

Josie sighs, thinking back to the bludger Jed had unintentionally aimed perfectly. 

Recalls the way her heart stopped when she heard that loud crunching noise of bludger meeting skull.

The fear racing through her veins when she saw Penelope’s body rapidly plummeting through the air as she fell off her broom.

“He deserved it,” she says. 

What she does not say was that she wanted to hurt Jed. That it was all she could think of when she saw Penelope lying unconscious on the ground. 

But judging by the way Raf is looking at her, maybe she didn’t need to. 

“I meant why’d you forfeit? You could have played seeker instead once they took Penelope to the hospital wing and got someone to sub in to play Chaser. It was your call to make, as Prefect, in the absence of Quidditch Captain. You were ahead by a hundred points too,” he explains slowly, giving her time to  _ really  _ understand what he was saying. 

Josie does, but that doesn’t mean she likes it.

“Lizzie was having an off day,” Raf continues, “she missed most of her shots and our other chasers were nowhere as good as her. You had the speed and reach advantage on Hope. The game was absolutely yours on paper. The Cup was yours.” 

His voice now takes on a disbelieving tone. “But you  _ quit.  _ Imagine my surprise when you - Josie Saltzman, holder of the Hogwarts scoring record, gets up to train at four AM by yourself  _ you,  _ willingly lost a Quidditch game. Walked away from a game that you could have won with your eyes closed.” 

Josie had sprinted away actually, as soon as she told Madam Hooch that they weren’t going to be playing anymore. Out the ground, up the stairs and not pausing until she’d reached the hospital wing. 

“But then the more I thought about it, the more obvious it was. Of course you wouldn’t want to play anymore. Not when you had something weighing you that heavily.”

The ‘not without her’ goes unsaid between them, but Josie hears it loud and clear anyway.

Josie exhales shakily, trying to ignore the tears filling up her eyes and Raf puts his arms around her. She leans into the comfort he so readily offers. 

“I’m fucking terrified,” she confesses in a whisper. 

“I know, I know,” he murmurs back. “But I think that girl back in the castle who asked me if I saw you five times in one hour really is too.” 

“I can’t get my heart shattered by her. Not again,” she whispers, more to herself this time.

Raf looks puzzled, but doesn’t pry. 

Instead he says, “talk to her. She’s been stomping around school for the past two days looking like a kicked puppy. I didn’t even know Penelope Park was capable of looking that lost.” 

“I’m just saying that if you ever find a girl you lo-” He cuts himself off at the look Josie shoots him, clears his throat and continues, “I mean, if you find a girl you care about more than you care about Quidditch, I think you shouldn’t let her go, Jo.” 

Josie laughs despite herself. “That’s such dumb, boy logic.” 

Raf grins that boyish grin at her. “It’s especially true for you. Don’t think I forgot all of the dates you forgot about because you were too busy practicing by yourself,” he teases. 

Josie fondly rolls her eyes and thinks about it for a bit, deciding that she could at least talk to Penelope. 

“Love is always worth the risk, Josie. Even if you get your heart trampled on,” he says sadly, probably thinking about Hope and how he himself knew he’d never had a chance with her. Not when Hope and Landon so obviously belonged together. “Don’t be afraid.” 

Raf was right after all. She had struggled in vain to not come to terms with it, but she could finally admit to herself that there was nobody else she would have walked away from that Quidditch final except for the most infuriating girl in the world. 

Even if it meant giving Penelope the power to break her heart yet again. 

She nods slightly. “I have detention with her tonight and while I originally thought I’d skip, I guess I can go talk to her?”

“Great! No need to thank me when this all goes wonderfully for you.” 

Josie scoffs playfully. “It’s the least you could do after dumping me because you fell in love with my step sister.”

Rafael groans. “I thought we got over that already?”

—

“How’d you track me down though?” Josie asks as they make their way back to the castle. 

Raf shoots her a look. “Anyone that knows you knows that you’d be practicing whenever you’re in emotional distress.” 

That was true. “Why did Penelope not turn up here then?” 

“Lizzie’s throwing a tantrum that’s very conveniently blocked everyone from using the exit,” Raf tells her, shaking his head and a reluctantly amused grin on his face. “I think she wants to give you as much time by yourself as you needed. Only let me through because she thought I would be able to help you.” 

Josie laughs, heart warm at the way her sister was constantly looking out for her. 

“She’s an angel, my sister.” 

Raf crinkles his nose, laughter in his eyes. “That’s definitely one word for her.” 

\--

  
  


“Why are you here, Professor Mikaelson?” Penelope asks, pausing in the doorway as she takes in Caroline’s unexpected presence in the detention hall. 

“Oh, I’m subbing in for Professor Pierce.” 

“Huh.” Penelope takes a seat in the front of the room. “You hate Professor Pierce.” 

Caroline scoffs. “I do not  _ hate  _ her.” 

“You once said calling Professor Pierce Satan would be an insult to Satan himself,” Penelope points out. 

Caroline reluctantly concedes the point. “Fine, I’m here because I talked to Rebekah-”

“Don’t you hate her too?” 

“My relationship with my  _ sister-in-law _ is much like yours and Lizzie’s,” Caroline answers pointedly. 

“Ah.” Recognition lights up Penelope’s face. “That’s why you’re here. But if you’re looking for an update on your daughter’s love life, I have nothing for you. I mean, she literally jumped out a window to run away from me. The only reason I’m even at detention is because I’m hoping she’ll sit down long enough to talk to me.” 

“What, you would have skipped otherwise? Don’t make me give you another detention just for saying that, kid.” 

Penelope rolls her eyes. “You wouldn’t. I’m literally your favorite student.” 

“I have three daughters and an almost certain son-in-law that attend here too, but go off sis.” 

Penelope grimaces. “Did MG teach you that? I’m going to hex him.” 

Caroline buries her face in her hands. “I started saying it ironically but now I can’t stop.” 

“You need help.” 

Caroline rolls her eyes before tilting her head to appraise Penelope. “How are you though? Really?”

Penelope breathes in deeply through her nose. “Scared,” she admits, softly. 

Caroline’s eyes soften. “I can understand that. Being within an arm’s reach of everything you’ve ever wanted… Makes you want to turn around and run in the opposite direction sometimes.” 

“I don’t want to do that.”

“It’s okay to be scared, Penelope.” 

“No. I mean, I’m scared yeah, but I’m also really excited, you know? I just want to be with her. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. And more than anything, I’m tired of pretending that she isn’t the most important person in the world to me. I planned on telling her differently, but if it takes a dumb love potion for Josie to know how I feel about her, then so be it.” 

“Aw, so I had that amazing ‘love is worth any risk’ speech prepared for nothing?” 

Penelope snorts. “Knowing you I’m sure it was incredibly moving, but I’m not the one you should be delivering it to. Believe me when I say that I’m absolutely ready to get my heart broken by your daughter.” 

Caroline shrugs a little. “I think she’s worried you’re going to do the breaking.” 

“I promise you that I would rather break my own heart than hurt Josie’s.” 

“I believe you,” Caroline murmurs, soft but firm. It was the highest form of approval Penelope would ever get and she knew it. 

Josie’s  _ mother  _ trusted her. It didn’t get any bigger or better than that. 

“Thank you.” Penelope looks away, unable to meet Caroline’s intense eyes. Her gaze lands on the clock. It was fifteen minutes past seven. “I can’t believe Josie would rather be late to detention than talk to me. When was the last time she was ever late to anything? It’s insulting really.” 

“What are you going to say to her?” Caroline pauses, grins a little and then continues, “Other than the fact that you think the way she smells is attractive.” 

Penelope shoots her a dirty look. “Can you at least wait for me to date your daughter before you embarrass me for it?”

Caroline claps her hands together enthusiastically. “Oh, let me help! Let’s practice.” 

Penelope groans. She’d been so focused on trying to track Josie down that she hadn’t even thought of what she would say to her after that. 

“What should I even say? ‘Uh, hi Josie, I’ve been into you since the moment I saw you on the train in our first year but then you decided you hated me for some reason so I had to annoy you to get your attention somehow. Plus your frustrated pout is so adorable I think about kissing it and holding your hand and smelling your hair all the time?’” 

Caroline makes a face. “Well I wouldn’t put it like  _ that _ , but I like the bit about wanting to hold her hand. That really warmed my heart. Maybe leave that in.” 

“Is my life a joke to you?” 

Caroline smiles sarcastically. “Well certainly not now that I know you think about smelling my daughter’s hair all the time.” 

“That’s it,” Penelope grumbles, putting her head on the desk, “your sister-in-law is my new favorite teacher.” 

Caroline laughs and laughs, only interrupted by the door hesitantly being pushed open.

Josie stands in the doorway, hands trembling and looking as terrified as Penelope felt. 

Penelope pretty much jumps in her seat at the sight of her. “Josie, hi!” 

“Hi?” Josie looks at the remnants of a laugh on Caroline’s face suspiciously. “What’s happening here?” 

“Oh, nothing much, just grilling Penelope about her intentions with you.” 

Penelope sniggers when Josie turns red. 

“Mom, why?” 

Caroline looks offended. “What? I’m being supportive. I -” she pauses and looks at Penelope. “What is the word? When I’m enthusiastic about a relationship?” 

Penelope’s eyes crinkle as she laughs. “Ship,” she provides helpfully but adjusts her face to look somber when Josie glares at her. 

“Yes!” Caroline waves her hand excitedly. “That! Ship. I ship you guys.” 

Josie groans, ignoring Penelope’s happy little coo after Caroline says that and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Mom, please. We talked about this and you promised you wouldn’t hang out with MG anymore.” 

“Fine. I’m sorry for wanting to be involved in my daughter’s life,” Caroline says loftily, in typical mom fashion.

“Is this the form of cruel and unusual punishment you’ve chosen for me instead of a typical detention?” Josie asks, sitting down at a desk in the first row. Naturally, the furthest seat from Penelope. She doesn’t look her way at all. 

“I mean, you can still talk to each other if you’d like,” Caroline offers. “It can be like therapy but detention.” 

“I’m good Mom, thanks,” Josie replies, looking straight ahead. 

Penelope stares at Josie, who firmly avoids her gaze, hoping to catch her attention. 

Caroline anxiously looks between the two. 

_ God, it was going to be a long two hours.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought!   
Raf and Josie being the mom friends together is what I deserve. Caroline and Penelope are my favorite relationship that will probably never be explored. What’s the consensus? Do we like where it’s going so far? Come scream at me on Twitter @dammnvers.

**Author's Note:**

> There's part two to this with Josie and Penelope doing the actual talking and hopefully working out their issues in a calm, healthy and mature manner. But it is Josie we're talking about, so who knows? It should be coming out soon. I think. I know that ideally this would be very well written, detailed and long but sometimes we gotta throw together only the scenes we want to write and call it a fic. 
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! This has been in my drafts for so long now so I wanted to put this out there in appreciation of the insane and very lovely response I've gotten to the last chapter of like a river flows. You guys constantly blow my mind on the regular. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! Did you hate it? Did you love it? Do you also think this version of Penelope is swoon worthy? Because I kinda do. I know I wrote it, but the girl is adorable af. Plus, the mental image of Josie jumping out of a window to run away from Penelope made me laugh and I hope it did the same for you!


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